Top News:
Brent Lang / Variety:
Sony Cancels Theatrical Release for ‘The Interview’ on Christmas — With theater chains defecting en masse, Sony Pictures Entertainment has pulled the planned Christmas release of “The Interview.” — In announcing the decision to cancel the holiday debut, Sony hit back at the hackers …
Discussion:
New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, The Wrap, @roblowe, TechCrunch, Politico, NBC News, Gawker, CNBC, AdAge, FishbowlNY, Gizmodo, @nikcub, Rolling Stone, @brentalang, Fusion, @dandrezner, @fleetstreetfox, The Next Web, @kashhill, @jeffjarvis, @nickkristof, The Week, SSN Insider, @rogerkimball, @petepachal, U-T San Diego stories, @jackmirkinson, Business Insider, @felixsalmon, The Verge, USA Today and Media & Entertainment
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Dave McNary / Variety:
Sony Has ‘No Further Release Plans’ for ‘The Interview’ — Sony Pictures Entertainment has walked out on “The Interview,” deciding against releasing the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy in any form — including VOD or DVD. — “Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film,” a spokesman said Wednesday.
Discussion:
New York Times, Forbes, Mediaite, Mashable, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, The Desk and TIME
Bryan Bishop / The Verge:
With major US movie theater chains refusing to show Interview, Sony should release it online — Why Sony Pictures should release The Interview online — Not even North Korea can stop the internet — The dominoes fell swiftly Tuesday. The group behind the massive Sony hacks released another cache …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, @pamelabrowncnn, New York Times, Deadline, Bloomberg View, @juliejacobson, @kyleorl, @rhoulette, @metromanto, @dcshorts, @jrudis, @harrymccracken, @girlparts, @scalzi, @mattsmacintosh, /Film, The Dish, Asia Unbound, Guardian, Variety, The Week, The Daily Caller and Polygon
Ted Johnson / Variety:
CNBC and CNN reporting US investigators have linked North Korea to Sony attack — North Korea Ordered the Sony Attack: Reports — Federal authorities have determined that hackers working on behalf of the North Korean government were behind the attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to published reports.
Discussion:
Mediaite, @marlenacnn, CNBC, Hollywood Life and fox4kc.com
Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
New York Times Reporters Told Not To Open Hacked Sony Emails, Some Of Which Involve The Times — NEW YORK — The massive Sony hack has left editors with a decision sure to be studied in media ethics classes for years to come: Should journalists report on materials stolen from a corporation by hackers?
Discussion:
Poynter, Washington Post, Slate, US News, Hollywood Reporter, @matthewkeyslive, @freebarrett_, Sony Hack, @mlcalderone, @dangillmor and National Journal
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Alex Hern / Guardian:
Reddit bans SonyGOP subreddit and users for sharing leaked Sony documents, deletes posts after receiving DMCA takedown request — Reddit bans users for sharing hacked Sony documents — The social news site has acceded to a DMCA takedown request from Sony and removed a hub for sharing the company's hacked files
Discussion:
Business Insider, Vox, Pocket-lint, PandoDaily and The Verge
Manjula Martin / Scratch Magazine:
The Toast's publisher Nick Pavich explains contract changes, apologizes for rude tweets — UPDATED: “I apologize.” The Toast's publisher on writers' terms — UPDATED: — I talked with Nick Pavich, publisher of The Toast and The Butter, over email this morning to clarify their rights terms for freelance writers.
Discussion:
@nick_pavich, @manjulamartin, @sulagnamisra, @alexanderchee, @glennf and Whatever
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Mallory Ortberg / The Toast:
Following outcry from writers over copyright transfer, The Toast and The Butter amend their contracts — A Note About Contracts and Authors' Rights — Hello, lovelies! This is going to get a bit inside-baseball-y, so if you do not consider yourself A Writer or Someone With A Vested Interest …
Discussion:
@sedna_51, @eilatan, @mallelis, @thewayoftheid, @tithenai, @meanchelled, @mallelis, @mallelis, Writer Beware, @scalzi, @mallelis, @mallelis and @scalzi
Joseph Lichterman / Nieman Lab:
How Philly's Billy Penn is building a local news audience from scratch — HILADELPHIA — Armed with a Kindle Fire tablet, Anna Orso stood just inside the front door of an Irish pub last Monday night welcoming guests to a happy hour in Center City, Philadelphia.
Discussion:
Billy Penn, @justinnxt, @stevebuttry, @ylichterman, @ceodonovan and @samkirkla
Mat Honan / Wired:
Inside Circa, BuzzFeed, and First Look Media: the battle for attention from the news startups — Inside the Buzz-Fueled Media Startups Battling for Your Attention — It's like a parody, spending time in a well-funded startup's office, with exposed brick walls and Great Big Screens Showing User Numbers …
Discussion:
@ashleykmayo, @joelchoffmann, @sealln, @digidave, @antderosa, @coreyhutchins, @moneyries, @c_heller, @jimray, @lheron, @eamonleonard, @om, @shanedingman, @zeynep, @kevinroose and @digiphile
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
BuzzFeed buys Hyper IQ, small app developer that has been working on its iOS app — BuzzFeed buys developer to focus on building native apps — BuzzFeed has big plans to build out its mobile app. The site has acquired the team behind Hyper IQ, a developer that's already been working on BuzzFeed's iOS app.
Discussion:
@mobilemediamemo
John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:
Senate Confirms FCC Commissioner O'Rielly to Full Term — Had been serving out unexpired term of commissioner McDowell — FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly was confirmed by he Senate Tuesday for a full five-year term on the commission. He had been filling out the unexpired term of Rob McDowell …
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, Roll Call, TechCrunch and The Hill
Shazdeh Omari / Committee to Protect Journalists:
China is world's worst jailer of the press; global tally second worst on record — Also Available in Português, Türkçe, Español, Français, , — More than 200 journalists are imprisoned for their work for the third consecutive year, reflecting a global surge in authoritarianism.
Discussion:
Guardian, Poynter, FishbowlNY and The Huffington Post